Astronautical and Aeronautical Events of 1962 - NASA's History Office

70 ASTRONAUTICAL AND AERONAUTICAL EVENTS OF 1962
Nagy of Fordham University, Dr. George Claus of NYuMedical
Center, and Dr. Warren G. Meinchein of Esso Research presented
evidence, first reported last year, that they had found
“orgttnized elements’’ in the Orgueil meteorite. Dr. Frank W.
Fitch and Dr. Edward Anders of the University of Chicago reported
that the Fordham group found “prohahlv nothing more
than earthly contaniinants such as ragweed pollen and starch
grains.” Dr. Harold Urey of the University of California (La
Job) stated that the U.S. is spending $25 hillion to go to the
moon to answer this and other questions. All agreed that the
question of extraterrestrial life was of basic scientific significance.
May 4: NASA’s MSFC completed negotiations with Aerojet-General
Corp. for the design and development of the M-1 engine, two or
more of which will power the second stage of the Nova.
“Dynamic model” stud on one-fifth-scale Saturn rocket at NASA’s
Langley Research 8enter offered useful concept for testing
structural characteristics of the future Nova rocket. As reported
by Homer G. Morgan, application of varying frequencies to the
“Baby Saturn” while suspended as if in free flight rovided clues
on structural vibration capable of transmitting fa P se indications
into the vehicle’s guidance system. The two successful test
firings of the Saturn demonstrated value of this research. After
test of a “Baby Nova” for structural efficiency, Morgan said,
construction of an operational booster could be expedited. A
full-scale Saturn model had been similarly tested at MSFC.
Launch of USAF Titan I on 5,000-mile flight down PMR marked the
100th missile fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., launchings
which included 21 Thor IRBM’S, 32 Atlas ICBM’s, five Titan ICBM’s,
and 42 satellites.
May 5: 117 members of the International Committee on Space
Research (COSPAR) toured Cape Canaveral, and a delegation also
toured NASA’s Wallops Station.
May 6: USAF Cambridge Research Lab reported record ten-day flight
of superpressurized balloon at a constant altitude of 70,000 feet
with a 40-lb. payload. Launched from Chico, Calif., on April 26,
development ballon landed on command near Cedar City, Utah,
and will lead to 20-day balloon flight experiments at a constant
altitude later this summer.
In the Third International Space Science Symposium sponsored by
COSPAR, Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists W. K. Victor and
Robertson Stevens reported that radar soundings of Venus
suggest that its surface material and roughness are comparable
to that of the earth. Radar probes of Venus have demonstrated
that UHF signals can be used for space communications over
distances of 50-75 million miles.
Astronaut John Glenn and Cosmonaut Gherrnan Titov appeared
on ABC-TV program, “The Nation’s Future.” Col. Glenn
pressed Major Titov on possible Soviet space mishaps, but no
new information was forthcoming.
0 AFCRL scientists launched a second artificial meteor by means of
a multistage rocket fired from Wallops Island. The meteor
traveled at a re-entry speed of 12 kilometers per second, exceeding
that attained in the previous experiment of April 21, 1961.